the new film about Jordan and Nike, is worth seeing

by Matthew Paris

Last week, I was invited to the Houston premiere of Air. It’s Ben Affleck’s new movie about Nike pursuing basketball great Michael Jordan. I was a kid in the 90s, and many of my friends wore Air Jordans, and I had shirts and hats with the Air Jordan logo. What I didn’t know then, but do now, is how all that came to be.

Nike was a smaller company in 1984 that branded itself on track shoes. That made sense because founder Phil Knight ran track in college (University of Oregon). Nike wanted to expand the brand by adding a line of basketball shoes, so Knight hired Sonny Vaccaro, a streetwise basketball guru, to grow the basketball division. Vaccaro did just that, and his first step was to seek talent for Nike’s line of basketball shoes. Jordan, though, was an unlikely target.

Yes, Jordan had won an NCAA championship playing for the North Carolina Tar Heels, but he was not the superstar we know today. The conventional route would have been for Nike to pick an established NBA star and build a shoe around a brand name. The timing screamed for that option because Nike struggled on the sales front. Nike had another tall hill to climb - it had to go up against the leading shoe competitor, Converse, the official shoe of the NBA, which already had Magic Johnson and Larry Bird under contract. Besides, Jordan was leaning toward a third company, Adidas. He had worn Adidas shoes in college.

While we all know how the story ended up – Jordan signed with Nike. The film does a terrific job of exploring the backstory of how it all came about. It’s a story about the people involved, their personalities, and their relationships.

Affleck directed the film, and he also plays Phil Knight. Matt Damon, who plays Sonny Vaccaro, is a standout, as is Viola Davis, who plays Deloris Jordan, Michael’s mother. Her role is central to what happened in the mid-1980s, “the backbone of all of it,” her son has said. There’s a particularly great scene in the film where Vaccaro tells Mother Jordan that he believes her son is unique and that he’s going to achieve greatness.

Another great scene takes place in the Nike board room. Vaccaro speaks emotionally to the Jordan family about why Nike needs him. Who knew at the time that Vaccaro would be so spot on?

Let me add that the supporting actors are outstanding, too. Chris Messina plays David Falk, Jordan’s agent with an ego, a man who would do anything for his client at the right price. Comic relief comes from Chris Tucker, who plays Nike executive Howard White. Jason Bateman, who plays Rob Strasser, the head of Marketing for Nike, is excellent.

The soundtrack includes many great tunes from the ’80s that I fondly remember from my youth.

From where I stand, this film is about greatness. It’s a story about a time, a person, and a relationship that has indelibly impacted our culture. What else would you expect from someone known worldwide as “Michael” and a company with a compelling brand, “Just Do It!”?

Screenwriter/ director Matthew Paris writes about sports films at The Sports Column.